The present invention relates to lenses, and more particularly to signal lenses comprising a bundle of adjacent light transmitting elements.
Light transmitting elements, including fiber optic cables, are well known for various uses. A defining trait of the fiber optic cable is its ability to transmit light from a source with minimal losses over short or long distances.
It is also known that various vehicles rely on marker lights and headlights, among others, to make them visible during evening hours as well as to provide information to others regarding turns and other vehicular movements.
Marker and headlight lenses have been used in vehicle lighting applications for many years. The lenses generally comprise a transparent plastic or glass material having a tint or color added as necessary to the application. The lens then colors the emitted light as well as providing protection to the bulb. Prior art lenses also comprise a plurality of adjacent convex lens giving a dot matrix appearance to the marker light operation.
Prior art uses of the fiber optic cable are primarily focused on transmitting light from a source to an emitter without taking advantage of other unique features of the cable, for example, light transmission efficiency over short distances and the numerical aperture. Further, the plastic lens presents a noticeable feature on a vehicle surface, regardless of the state of operation.
Representative of the art is U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,966 (1998) to Schwing that discloses a lighted bumper guide that uses a single fiber optic filament extending from a light source to allow a driver to identify the extremity or ends of the bumper of a vehicle.
Also representative of the art is U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,881 (1995) to Miller that discloses a multi-lens luminaire having a generally tubular macro-housing having a plurality of generally tubular micro-housings, each micro-housing retaining a fiber optic light guide emitting light from a remote source of illumination.
The prior art does not teach use of short fiber optic cable strands in an array used as a lens with a light source. The prior art does not teach orienting the fiber optic strands in a single lens to discriminate between different light sources. Nor does the prior art teach use of adjacent, light transmitting elements in an array. The prior art does not teach use of fiber optic strands coordinated with a vehicle surface in such a way as to render a lens invisible when not in use.
What is needed is a lens comprising a bundle of light transmitting elements. What is needed is a lens comprising a bundle of light transmitting elements inclined at an angle to a light source.
What is needed is a lens comprising a bundle of fiber optic cable strands. What is needed is a lens comprising a bundle of light transmitting elements that discriminate between different light sources.
What is needed is a lens comprising fiber optic strands coordinated with a vehicle surface in such a way as to render a marker lens invisible when not in use. The present invention meets these needs.
The primary aspect of the invention is to provide a lens comprising an array of fiber optic cable strands.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a lens comprising an array of fiber optic cable strands inclined at an angle to a light source.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a lens comprising an array of parallel fiber optic strands.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a lens comprising an array of fiber optic cable strands which discriminate between different light sources.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a lens comprising fiber optic strands coordinated with a vehicle surface in such a way as to render a marker lens invisible when not in use.
Other aspects of the invention will be pointed out or made obvious by the following description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.
The invention is a lens. The light transmitting portion of the lens comprises a plurality of fiber optic strands forming an array arranged parallel to each other in a side-by-side manner. The fiber optic strands are also inclined at an angle to a surface of the lens. This defeats any direct reflection from the interior of the lens, which gives virtual invisibility, to the lens face and when not in use, of the elements inside the lens. In operation, without the light source illuminated, it allows the lens to transmit the color of a reflective panel disposed behind the lens. In operation, with the light source illuminated, the lens is then lit displaying the color of the light source or of the color of the strands or both. In an alternate embodiment, the strands are arranged so that different groups of strands are each focused on one or a group of light sources in an array of light sources.
The chameleon effect of rendering invisible the surface of the light transmitting elements relative to vehicle""s surface is achieved through one or a plurality of the following methods:
1.xe2x80x94The variation of the fibers"" diameter d1 in relation to variations of the center distance d2 between adjacent fibers, based on the general relation between the two where d2 less than d1. To explain how this will work, a principle of its operation is similar and is used when advertising on bus windows, taxis etc. To the outside viewer, the color of the advertisement is what catches the eye. The eye is fooled into believing that the whole surface of the window is painted solid. In reality is only a mesh that has d1 diameter orifices spaced at d2 distances that is colored. The passengers inside the bus will be able to see through the window, through these perforations through the mesh.
The larger d1 and the smaller d2 the better the passengers will see and the less effective the advertisement will be (the chameleon effect).
When d1 is smaller and d2 is increased the passengers"" vision will worsen (less brilliance to the signal lights), but the add will be more visible.
This invention will use the same principle and therefore a balance must be found between the various combinations of values given to d1 and d2. The purpose is to optimize the balance between the brilliance required by a signal light and the effectiveness of the chameleon effect. This balance is influenced by the specific design of the lens in a specific vehicle configuration and therefore cannot be accurately determined for all applications. However a range of d1 from 1.0 mm to 4.0 mm diameter and d2 2.5 mm to 10 mm will probably give best results. Also, a honeycomb configuration of the fiber optic strands will give a uniform distribution of the light pattern, therefore, it will increase the effectiveness of both signal light efficiency and chameleon effect.
2.xe2x80x94Having the fiber optic tinted to the same color as the vehicle panel where the device is located.
3.xe2x80x94For light color vehicles, a light source of the same color as the vehicle""s color can also be used to blend the light source""s surface into the rest of the panel. The intensity of such light will vary depending on the outside or ambient light conditions (midday, dusk, etc.) and it will be automatically adjustable. When the signal light is activated an additional, much stronger red or yellow light source will turn on and override the previous.